Snow is melting, flowers are blooming, the sun is shining…wait…none of that is happening. It may be only February, but welcome to the first edition of the 2018 Spring Break Chronicles, boys and girls! For whatever reason, Bates and Brandeis both take their “spring” break trips during February. All naming conventions aside, February sounds like an even better time to get out of the Northeast than March, so good for the Bobcats and Judges! We’ve seen Brandeis play one match so far, as they swept Point Loma in doubles and never looked back. The depth came up big, as Deis won at 4/5/6 and won the match 6-2. The Judges are back in action tonight taking on Cal Lu. Similarly, we’ve only seen Bates play one match so far, as they THUMPED Chapman on Tuesday. That being said, playing at PP presents a whole different challenge than either Chapman or Point Loma. Can either of these DIII teams attack the coop and come out of the biggest match of their “spring” break unscathed? I’ll be giving my perspective on the Bates vs PP section of the article, while DIIIWest is here with me to give his take on the Brandeis vs. PP match.
#19 Bates @ #12 Pomona-Pitzer, Thursday @ 7:00 p.m.
Why Bates will win: They have momentum after not allowing more than fives games in a singles match against Chapman. They’ve won here before, actually a couple of times in the past five years, each time as an underdog. They lost some from last year, but not as much as PP. Frankly, I don’t know if any team lost as much as PP did from 2017. Yasgoor, Maassen, Bello, Kim and Simonides…woof. Also, I like the lineup Bates debuted the other night. You have your stud at #1 in Ben Rosen, then some experience at #2 in Josh Quijano, then a battle ready (albeit with limited singles experience) senior at #3 and a bunch of sophomores trying to prove themselves at 4/5/6. This lineup matches up fairly well, considering PP has a new strong #1, but Bates will still be favored, and lots of other singles matches will be close ones. If Bates takes a doubles lead, they should be in a good position to come out of this match with a few singles wins and the upset.
Why they won’t: They aren’t used to outdoor tennis. In fact, they aren’t used to any tennis at all seeing as they haven’t yet even been practicing for a week. While PP did lose people, Bates lost Ellis, Ordway, Feldman and Schwartz, all of whom started at different times last year, and three of the four played either #1 or #2 doubles. Strong doubles is a Bates hallmark, but lots of the guys in the doubles lineup now have limited to no experience there. Doubles is a very coachable skill, one that Coach Gastonguay coaches well, but it does take time and I just don’t know if the Bobcats are quite there yet. It will be very tough to overcome a doubles deficit on the road against a team that is hungry to prove the early doubters wrong.
Bobcat to watch: Josh Leiner, senior. Josh is getting his first real chance to start in the singles lineup, and he steamrolled through the Chapman #3 the other day. In all honesty, my Bates preview had him projected as a 5-7 guy, so him playing and playing well at #3 deserves some props. He’s also playing #2 doubles with Josh Quijano. That’s a lot of experience, but on paper a weaker team than Bates has had in the #2 spot in quite some time now. If Leiner can dig out at least one and possibly even two wins against PP, Bates will be in fantastic shape to pull off the upset.
Why Pomona-Pitzer will win: Home court advantage, weather advantage, they are the fresher of the two teams, and most importantly it doesn’t look like they have played a match yet with what would be their full lineup. So while some are ready to call for the end of times, I think we have yet to see PP at full force and we probably will on Thursday. That would be some combo of Kronenberg, J. Gearou, Bellet, Mandic and two of Malech, Schoenherr and S. Jearou. That is a lot of new names, but only one freshman! Jacob Schoenherr is a transfer from the University of Montana, and Octave Bellet De Giacomoni is a transfer from Irvine Valley, both of whom seem lineup ready. PP actually played Irvine Valley to start their year, but Octave didn’t play. However, it’s the youthful exuberance mixed with the senior leadership from Mandic, Malech and a doubles guy like Chadalvada Kedavra (AKA Mr. Unforgivable) that provide a good mix and will keep this from being a true “rebuilding year” for the Hens.
Why they won’t: This is more DIII West’s territory, and he’ll get there in the next section of the preview. But, frankly, full lineup or not, the results so far have not been encouraging. A win over Cal Tech means a lot more now than it used to, especially as the Beavers are projected to finish 4th in the conference this year, but a 5-4 score against a team that has NEVER beaten the Hens and only gotten closer than 8-1 one time does not inspire confidence. Another potential struggle point for the Hens is the doubles. As DIIIWest gets into later on in the article, PP has been struggling so far in doubles. Even though Bates is weaker this year, the Cats come out firing, and PP getting into a quick hole would put this match on upset alert REAL fast.
Hen to watch: Jed Kronenberg. He has been a stud so far, but the young Hen also has not had the opportunity to play down the stretch of a vital match. Yes, he played #1 against Cal Tech, but he won 1&2 after PP was up 2-1 heading into singles. In his looming match against Rosen, he will be an underdog, but not an extreme dawg. If young JK (Coop Rule 78: there must always be at least one JK in the nest at all times) can steal a point from Rosen, that’s a win for PP, if he ends up winning at both #1 doubles and #1 singles, PP should be in great shape to hold court and win this match.
PREDICTIONS:
DIII West: Pomona-Pitzer def Bates 5-4
D3NE: Bates def. Pomona-Pitzer 5-4
#20 Brandeis @ #12 Pomona-Pitzer
DIII WEST: Why Brandeis will win: The Judges are coming off an impressive win against DII Point Loma in San Diego where they swept doubles (winning two of the three in tiebreakers). This result proves that they came out to California to play some ball and they have the talent and depth to do so. Before they play Pomona, they will face Cal Lutheran and Occidental; two matches I see the Judges winning at ease. Heading down to Claremont, they will most likely be 3-0 during their CA trip and if so, expect them to bring the fire and intensity against the Hens. Their match against PP is the biggest match for the Judges during their week trip out west, so expect them to come out swinging and try to end their their trip on a very high note.
Why they won’t: With the departure of Bunis, Granoff, and Arguello, the Judges lose three very successful and talented players. No matter how many players they bring in this year, it will be very hard to replace and replicate the consistent play brought by the seniors from last year. Taking a look at their result against Point Loma, it seems that the three incoming freshmen of Vohra, Das, and Coramutla got the nod at 3/4/5 singles. The Judges may have brought in three impressive freshmen, but Brandeis is simply not as deep or talented throughout their lineup as last year. As a result, I think Pomona’s grit and home court advantage will be too much for Brandeis. I think it would be a fair assessment to say that last year’s Brandeis squad may take out this year’s Pomona team, but I don’t think I can say the same for Brandeis’ team this year unfortunately.
Judge to watch: Tyler Ng. Against Point Loma, Ng only played in doubles at #2 with Kogan (who played #1 singles). Ng was able to go 11-5 at #3 and #4 last season and was seen as one of the most consistent guys in their lineup. If the Judges want to compete with the likes of Pomona-Pitzer, they will have to make sure Ng not only plays both doubles and singles, but is able to replicate his consistent results a couple spots higher than he is used to. If he is able to win at #2 doubles with Kogan and bring his A game taking out Gearou, Mandic, or Bellet at #2 in singles, the Judges only need three remaining points to pull off the upset over the Hens. (D3NE note: expect to see Ng in this match).
Why Pomona-Pitzer will win: The Hens will take this match against the Judges simply because they have more experience and depth than their opponent. If the Brandeis freshmen do play at 3, 4, and 5 once again, they will take on three very solid and experienced players that have been in situations such as these where huge national implications are on the line. Kronenberg seems to be the real deal at #1 and I see him taking out either Kogan or Ng (if Ng is healthy enough to play singles and gets the nod at #1). From there, I envision PP using a combination of home court advantage and more overall depth to win this match at relative ease.
Why they won’t: The Hens are struggling on the doubles court big time so far this year. With Brandeis sweeping Point Loma in doubles, it proves that they are able to play some serious doubles and for all we know, they could sweep PP and head into singles up 3-0. The Hens lost five very solid seniors from last year and are down when it comes to overall talent. They barely got through Caltech and their scores even against Occidental weren’t all that convincing. This may be a down year for the Hens and a perfect time for Brandeis to jump on this opportunity and take out a top 15 team.
Hen to watch: Josh Gearou. Besides Jed at #1, Josh G. so far has stepped up the most and seems to have received the nod to play #2 this year. He played #2 against Caltech where he absolutely steamrolled Li before taking out Cypress’ #1, 6-4, 6-3. Josh hasn’t played any higher than #5 his past two years and his grinding style of play would make one think he really can’t play any higher than #5. That doesn’t seem to be the case and it has so far been obvious that his consistent and head-shaking style of play is disrupting his opponents even at #2. If the Hens want to succeed this year, they will need Josh to be a solid #2 singles player as they are lacking in talent compared to years past.
PREDICTIONS:
DIII West: Pomona-Pitzer def Brandeis 6-3
D3NE: Pomona-Pitzer def. Brandeis 5-4